The Regional District of Fraser-Fort George is planting the seeds to build its first Regional Agriculture Strategy.
The strategy will focus on supporting agriculture and farming in the region and identify action-oriented goals, practical solutions and actions to address existing and potential issues and opportunities.
“A Regional Agriculture Strategy will help us strengthen farming and contribute to the long-term sustainability of agriculture within the region,” said Kenna Jonkman, General Manager of Development Services with the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George. “It will be a tool to foster greater communication and collaboration between the Regional District, Indigenous Nations, the agricultural community, and provincial agencies in undertaking actions to support agriculture in the region.”
According to a 2019 report from Northern Development Initiatives Trust, there are approximately 1900 farms producing livestock and 1734 engaged in crop production in northern B.C. These cover a great deal of land and support many related businesses and sectors including equipment retailers and manufacturers, as well as gravel, peat and feed suppliers.
Through the development of the strategy, the regional district will:
- Provide a baseline of information regarding the existing agricultural sector in the region;
- Identify strengths and limitations, opportunities, aspirations, results (SOAR) of agriculture in the region;
- Identify action-oriented goals, practical solutions and actions to strengthen agriculture in the region;
- Integrate and identify external organizations that are best positioned to implement or support goals and actions;
- Identify a plan for implementation with recommendations regarding priority of goals and actions; and
- Identify key performance indicators to be used to measure performance of plan implementation.
More information about the project can be found at www.rdffg.bc.ca. The development of the plan is funded in part by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and the Government of British Columbia through programs delivered by the Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC.